Teens Involved in 3 Crashes Over the Weekend

Teen drivers were involved in three collisions over the weekend, two of which were hit-and-run crashes, the California Highway Patrol said Monday. The most serious crash on Sunday night injured five of the six occupants of a GMC Yukon XL, including the 16-year-old female driver, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said. The GMC Yukon was traveling at an estimated 75 mph on westbound Roberts Road east of Petaluma Hill Road in unincorporated Sonoma County east of Cotati around 9 p.m. when the driver lost control of the vehicle which drifted onto the soft dirt shoulder and overturned at least once, Sloat said.

All the occupants were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The teens’ parents were notified either by the CHP on the scene or by hospital staff, Sloat said. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash, and the name of the driver is being withheld because charges might be filed, Sloat said.

A 15-year-old Santa Rosa boy was arrested for DUI, hit-and-run and driving without a license after the Dodge Colt he was driving was found in the front yard of a residence on Petaluma Hill Road north of Hunter Lane north of Rohnert Park around 5 p.m. Sunday, Sloat said. CHP officers detained two of the car’s occupants who were walking north on Petaluma Hill Road. After an extensive search another passenger and the driver were found hiding in bushes three-quarters of a mile from the scene, Sloat said. None of the parties were injured, and the driver was booked in juvenile hall.

His name is being withheld because he faces criminal charges, Sloat said. On Saturday the CHP responded to an injury crash on state Highway 12 east of Stony Point Road in Santa Rosa around 12:15 a.m. Witnesses said four occupants, including three Hispanic males, ran from the scene of a Toyota 4Runner that overturned and landed on its wheels, Sloat said.

A Santa Rosa police officer found the driver, Rogelio Martinez, 19, of Santa Rosa, at a nearby shopping center, Sloat said. Martinez denied being involved in the collision, but he had a laceration on his head and is the registered owner of the Toyota, Sloat said. Martinez had called his mother for a ride after the crash, and while he was talking to the CHP officers, his mother arrived at the scene in a gray SUV, Sloat said. Martinez refused to perform field sobriety tests, and the CHP learned he is on felony probation for robbery, Sloat said. Martinez was booked in the Sonoma County jail for DUI, hit-and-run and a probation violation, Sloat said.

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